I am back with another post on the books I read during the school year, except this time it's for college! Yay! You can check out what I read my senior year here. Click on the titles to go to the review of the book.

Let me know what books you read this past school year or what books you read as a college freshman!

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

5 out of 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

5 out of 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

4 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

3 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

The Novice by Taran Matharu

4 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

4 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

4 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

5 out of 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

Hunter: The Fallen One by C.L. Hagely

3 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

5 out of 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

5 out of 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

Firebolt by Adrienne Woods

2 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

5 out of 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

4 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

5 out of 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

5 out of 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

5 out of 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

An Enchantment of Ravens by Maragret Rogerson

5 out of 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

Control Freakz by Michael Evans

2 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Taylor

I did a post like this a while ago, and I think it was helpful for some of you fellow compulsive book buyers out there so I'm doing it again! This is, again, not sponsored at all by BookOutlet, I just think they are a great site with great books and great prices. As usual, you also get free shipping from the site if you spend $35 or more. You can check out my last post like this because some of the deals from there are still mostly relevant, although some prices have changed a little.

Over $5

Cinder by Marissa Meyer



$5.39 (list price $9.99)

Paperback

Bargain Book Copy









Scarlet by Marissa Meyer



$5.39 (list price $9.99)

Paperback

Bargain Book Copy









Cress by Marissa Meyer





$5.39 (list price $10.99)

Paperback

Bargain Book Copy







Renegades by Marissa Meyer



$5.39 (list price $19.99)

Hardcover

Scratch and Dent Copy









Scythe by Neal Shusterman



$9.69 (list price $18.99)

Hardcover

Bargain Book Copy









Divergent Box Set by Veronica Roth



$18.99 (list price $51.96)

Paperback

Bargain Book Copy









Under $5

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi



$3.79 (list price $9.99)

Paperback

Scratch and Dent Copy









Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima



$4.29 (list price $9.99)

Paperback

Bargain Book Copy









Dumplin' by Julie Murphy



$4.29 (list price $9.99)

Paperback

Bargain Book Copy









Caraval by Stephanie Garber



$4.79 (list price $18.99)

Hardcover

Scratch and Dent Copy

Title: Roar

Author: Cora Carmack

Publisher: Tor Teen

Format/Pages: Hardback, 378

Genre: YA Fantasy

Rating:


To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage.

She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.
Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage.

She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.

Hello everyone!

I have another spotlight post for yet another upcoming 2018 release! This book, Rule, by Ellen Goodlett won't hit the shelves until September 11th, but nonetheless, I am highly anticipating this book. I was able to ask Ellen Goodlett some questions about this new fantastical adventure, and her answers have me even more excited!

Ellen's Website: ellengoodlett.com

Goodreads: Ellen Goodlett

Twitter: egoodlett

Facebook: egoodlettbooks

Ellen's Goodreads Bio:

Ellen Goodlett writes because otherwise she would spend her days plotting to take over the world. She figures that the former would benefit humanity ever so slightly more than the latter (which would be disastrous and involve a lot of cats in government positions). Her debut novel, RULE, about three girls competing for the throne in a fantasy world, will publish in fall 2018 with Little Brown.




1. How would you summarize Rule?






3. What can your readers expect in this new book?






5. Are there any books or movies you would compare to Rule?


6. What is your favorite book/genre to read?


7. Is there anything else about the book or yourself that you would like my readers to know? (optional)

As you all probably already know if you follow any of my social media, I have completed the first draft of the book I have been writing since I started this book! It has been a very long journey, and there have been times where I stopped writing (for almost a year) and got distracted by other ideas or just life in general, but I always came back to it. Since starting this book, a lot has happened personally, and I graduated high school and started college. All of this helped me grow, and it all even affected my writing - for the better.

I did three of these posts in the past; one for when I first started, one when I finished the first ten chapters, and one when I finished the first twenty chapters. They were all informational/reflective posts that I hope helped some of you if you read them! And now I am making this post as I have finished the rough draft and am starting the editing phase.

The first thing I have to say about finishing my rough draft is that my entire book was wrong. It had felt right when first writing it some three years ago, but now that the book has ended, I can really see what direction I want the book to go in. I have to rewrite the first 20 chapters of the book - I am already halfway through chapter five - and make some huge changes.








In all, I have a lot of editing in front of me. This will be a lot of work, but I am so happy with my novel now, and I believe in it even more than I did before.

I definitely stand by what many authors say in that you don't know the first chapter of your book until you finish your last chapter. Now I believe in the fact that you don't ever really know the direction of your story - sometimes your characters surprise you or your own writing concludes before you though it would, or continues past where you though it would. Sometimes, in my case, you won't know the first three quarters of your book until you write the last chapter.

Well that's all I can thinm of currently about the first draft! I will doing writing videos on my channel starting in June, so be on watch for those!

How is your work in progress going?

Thanks for reading!

Taylor

Title: Flame in the Mist

Author: Renee Ahdieh

Publisher: Putnam

Format/Pages: Hardback, 392

Release Date: May 16th, 2017

Genre: YA Fantasy

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars









Hello everyone!

I am in love with this book! At first I was a little confused while reading this book because it is heavy with Asian terminology, but then I found the glossary in the back. I breezed through the book after that. I loved learning about Asian warriors and it was such a fun take on Mulan.

The plot itself is intriguing, I love the girl dresses like boy and fools them all trope, and she takes it upon herself to find who targeted her and her convoy in the woods. It all just flows so smoothly and we learn so much about the world and what it means to be a warrior. The writing is absolutely gorgeous - of course it is, it was written by Renee Ahdieh. I instantly wanted more after reading FitM, and I cannot wait for the release of the second book, Smoke in the Sun, in June of this year.

Mariko is such a great main character; she is a role model in every sense. She is greatly known for her curiosity and her need to constantly learn new things, despite the standards for a noble woman. Therefore, she is insanely smart and resourceful, and she is willing take any task head-on. As she disguises herself to learn who tried to murder her and to survive the Juaki forest she was left in, she quickly comes into herself and learns how to handle her situation.

With Mariko comes a whole lot of great feminism. This is the amazing feminist YA fantasy book I have been waiting for, and it is so inspiring. Here are a couple great quotes:



If those don't convince you to read this book, I don't know what will. I love the repeated theme of being as strong as you let yourself be, that you are in charge of your own person whether you're a man or a woman. The women of this book aren't fighting to change how the world treats them, they are learning to be brave in spite of how the world sees them and it changes the perception of women in a much more impactful way.

Next... the romance... I have to. The couple that emerges in this book fills my heart with so much happiness. If you won't read it for the feminism alone, read it for this star-crossed, all-consuming relationship that strengthens these two characters beyond all measures. This couple definitely made my list of top favorite couples.

In all, this book was amazing and you really need to read it for yourself because it is such a unique and driving experience. You see pure selflessness, pure love, and pure strength of heart. It is an incredibly tale that, I think, is a modern classic to be completely honest.

Let me know what you thought of Flame in the Mist, or if you plan to read it!

Thanks for reading!

Taylor

Title: Scythe

Author: Neal Shusterman

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Format/Pages: Hardback, 435

Release Date: November 22nd, 2016

Genre: YA Dystopian

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars








Hello everyone!

This is a book I didn't really know how to rate because I feel like the first half of the book could have one rating, like 2.75 stars, and the second half of the book could have a higher rating, like 4, so I'm going with 3.5 lol. Like most books out there, it doesn't really get into the action until about halfway, and that is when the stakes truly raise and you can't put the book down.

The plot itself is very interesting with the way humans have advanced so that death is nearly nonexistent, and the Scythedom is very intricate and well thought out. It isn't until the middle that I really was hooked though. Up until something actually big happened about three-quarters in did I decide that this book needed more stars. It was slow, yes, but I also just felt like why should I care? It was hard to see a real direction that the story was going to take, which is great for most books, but didn't suit this one too well at first. But when the book picked up, it was amazing with so many twists! It was dangerous and risky and unpredictable.

As for the characters, they also felt pretty dull and two-dimensional until that three-quarter point as well. I can tell the next book will be better since it is more established now, and I really look forward to what the characters have to offer in Thunderhead. I actually didn't like Citra at first, I found her selfish and a little narrow minded, but goes through well-needed character development. Rowan goes through this, also, and the difference between both characters in the beginning and the end is enormous. You can barely see them as the same people.

Rowan was, by far, my favorite character of the book because he was the most complicated and conflicted, and he was probably the most human. His choices may be slightly unfavorable, especially when it comes to Citra, but it's leads to an amazing story.

Citra's family also makes it into the book, and they were actually loving parents! That is so rare in a book to have both living parents and loving parents! We need more of this in YA because not every family is broken and resentful. Her parents were still selfish, which may be where Citra got it, but they were reasonably selfish - as in it is understandable why they were how they were.

Romance is nearly never involved in the book, and when it is, it is very limited. It suits this book and the circumstances, but you all know me, I'm looking for the romance lol.

In all, it was an entertaining book that makes you think about the world and where it's heading. I don't really have too much to say, so this isn't a very good review, but I do hope it helped in some way! Despite it's shortcomings, I would still recommend this book if only for the philosophical meaning.

Let me know down below what you thought of Scythe, or if you plan to read it!

Thanks for reading!

Taylor

Hello everyone!

I stumbled upon this tag through Dreamland Book Blog, and I thought it would be a fun thing try out! I love doing book tags, so really an tag looks like a fun one to me.

Let me know if you do/did this tag, or if there are any tags you would like me to see in the comments down below!

Let's get started...

First book in your collection/Last book you bought.

A cheap book/An expensive book.

A book with a male protagonist/One with a female protagonist.

A book you read fast/One that took you long to read.

Pretty cover/Ugly cover.

A national book/An international book.

A thin book/A thick book.

Fiction book/Non-fiction book.

Very (way too) romantic book/Action book.

A book that made you happy/One that made you sad.



Thanks for reading!

Taylor

Title: Control Freakz

Author: Michael Evans

Publisher: Palmetto Publishing Group

Pages: 280

Release Date: October 3rd, 2017

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

 

~ Goodreads Synopsis ~

Alone. Abandoned. Threatened. Natalie has lost all hope for a better future. Everything she’s known and everyone she’s ever loved is gone, and it’s up to her to get her old life back. In Michael Evans’s first novel, Control Freakz, Natalie’s journey toward a better life begins.
When Protocol 00 is enacted, Natalie’s family is taken by the government, along with the families of her two best friends, Ethan and Hunter. With nothing to lose, and the threat of government hitmen kidnapping them at any moment, the three must battle to survive in a horrid, post-apocalyptic world run by President Ash and his invasive government. They want answers. And they’re willing to jeopardize everything in desperate pursuit.
Risking ruthless leaders, attempted mind control, and her very existence on the planet, Natalie, along with Hunter and Ethan, will stop at nothing in their quest to regain everything they’ve ever known. Her spirits crushed and her will to live destroyed, Natalie knows everything is dead and gone, and soon she will be, too.
Memories connect us to the past, and can often cause us to long for a better future, but they can drive our minds into a state of hell if a better future is unattainable. Nevertheless, Natalie’s hope for a better a future remains.

~ ~ ~ ~

The author told me that f you sign up for his newsletter, you can receive the first four chapters of the book for FREE! You can sign up here.

Quick warning about this book: it has strong language and LOTS of it, so if you are sensitive to cursing, I would highly suggest not picking up this book.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was an interesting plot with the mysterious blue pill and the government-gone-bad trope that I actually do like even if it may be used quite often in the dystopian genre, but that's why it's used so much - people love it. Also, I did not expect the ending, it was very well thought-out and designed cleverly. As with most of the dystopian books, you can see where the story is going, but the end is definitely surprising, and it was refreshing and really helped the book in general.

Most of this book was written in a kind of stream of consciousness as the main character, Natalie, is pretty stuck in her own head. In some ways this was good, but in other ways not so much because it occurred during action scenes sometimes, and it really slowed down the pace of the action. Also, a lot of what she narrated through the story was plagued with self-pity which is generally a big turn-off for me. I understand she had been through a lot and her life was ruined from then on out, but she regularly just gave up when facing death and would suddenly lay limp until one of her guy friends picked her up and ran away. She was constantly in an internal battle between wanting to die and then not wanting to die - I see that the author was trying to make her confused and scared, but she was far too conflicted in some parts for it to be realistic.

One of my other commentaries on the novel is how erratic each of the main characters were. In the beginning, I could easily see how panicked Natalie was going to be throughout the novel, but I thought it would be ok because her two friends seemed to be more clam and level-headed. Then everyone was running around like they were going to die every waking second - in general, it all seemed a little much and was a little to extravagant. Their emotions felt very solid and detached from who they were so that they all molded into one character with slight differences.

Outside of what I mentioned above, it was really enjoyable. The writing flowed very well and was easy to breeze through. I sat and read nearly 250 pages because it was just so easy to read that I didn't want to stop once I started.

Let me know down below your thoughts on the book!

Thanks for reading!

Taylor

Hello everyone!

So, this month, I am going to do a very light TBR because I have a bigger book on here, and I don't want to be severely disappointed. I put up a video on my April Wrap-Up and May TBR that you can check out here.

Let me know down below what you plan on reading in May!

In April, I read:

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Control Freakz by Michael Evans

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

And in May, I hope to read:

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

I won this book on @literarynessie's (her blog), but I am having some trouble getting it - I think it was lost in the mail. I still hope to get the book this month whether the issue resolves or not. I am so looking forward to this book. I am dying without Rhysand.

 

 

 

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

In this book we follow Mariko, who is the daughter of a samurai and was born to be married. On her way to meet her betrothed for the first time, she is attacked. As the lone survivor, she sets out to see for herself who is targeting her. This book sounds like a great female empowerment story, and I am hyped for it.

 

 

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

In this book we follow a truthwitch - she can discern any lie from the truth. This is a very desired power, especially among the nobility she is born into, so she must disguise it from those willing to kill for it.

The magic in this book sounds really interesting and I am really excited to see the magic system in its entirety.

 

 

Roar by Cora Carmack

We have yet another magical book with Roar. Aurora is the heir to the Pavan throne, but she has yet to show any of the powers that she needs to protect her people. With a failed arrange marriage to keep her political power, she chooses to join a band of storm hunters to capture the essence of storms because that is how their ancestors were said to get their powers in the first place.

Again, I am really interested in the magic system and how it all plays out!

 

Let me know what books you plan to read in May!

Thanks for reading!

Taylor